Write from the Beginning, Grades K-5: 43 Joyful Lessons to Foster Skilled Writers Every Day

Discover engaging lessons to transform your elementary writing instruction

While we sometimes perceive that our students aren't "ready to write", every student brings literacy experiences from their home and family lives that can be leveraged to create meaningful writing experiences in the first days of school. Write From the Beginning, Grades K-5 empowers educators to cultivate a vibrant writing culture in their classrooms, where students can find their voices and flourish as confident writers.

Getting better at any skill requires practice to gain experience. This rich resource offers opportunities for daily writing that easily embed in your ELA block, helping you save on prep time and build your students' literacy foundations. Through a collection of 43 meticulously crafted lessons, Rebecca G. Harper melds standards-based instruction with innovative writing strategies, guiding young learners to explore the art of crafting sentences, storytelling, writing persuasively, and finding their voice as a writer.

Designed to engage students in joyful and meaningful writing activities, this book

• Transforms writing into a real-world activity for students, providing an authentic and relevant view of the complex writing process
• Offers adaptable lessons that align with developmental stages and instructional goals to meet students where they are in their writing journey
• Highlights the significance of digital literacy in today′s world and how it can be incorporated into the classroom
• Includes student samples, downloadable resources, mentor texts, and lesson plan extensions for easy implementation

With a focus on the characteristics of skilled writing rather than rigid genres, this book is a versatile resource that enriches any curriculum or writing instruction model. Dive into Write From the Beginning, Grades K-5 and watch your students′ writing skills blossom with creativity and confidence.

Dr. Rebecca G. Harper is a Professor of Language and Literacy in the College of Education and Human Development at Augusta University where she teaches courses in literacy, qualitative research, and curriculum, and serves as the EdD program director. Her research focuses on writing and critical literacy, and the ways in which authentic literacy can foster engagement, agency, and empathy in students. She is the Director of the Augusta University Writing Project and the author of Content Area Writing that Rocks (and Works)!, Write Now and Write On: 37 Strategies for Authentic Daily Writing in Every Content Area, Writing Workouts: Strategies to Build Students' Writing Skills, Stamina, and Success, and Literacy Practices in Sports and Coaching: Developing Literacy Competencies in Interdisciplinary Environments.